SAN CLEMENTE : Pier Bowl Report Discourages Hotels

Resort hotels and ritzy specialty shops may not be the most realistic plans for redevelopment in the Pier Bowl district, according to a new city-sponsored marketing report.

Analysts with Economic and Planning Systems, which prepared the report for the city, say time-share vacation units, modestly priced beach-related stores and a handful of new restaurants may have a better chance of economic success in the Pier Bowl.

Without intensive hotel and retail development, the city would not need to build a costly parking garage, according to the report.

Analysts outlined their findings during a special workshop Monday involving the City Council and Planning Commission.

Council and commission members will use the report in crafting a plan to guide redevelopment and preservation in the 68-acre Pier Bowl district, which includes the Municipal Pier, Casa Romantica and the Beachcomber Motel-Robison home, site of a proposed 123-room luxury hotel that is a subject of controversy.

While stopping short of calling the prospects of hotel development in the Pier Bowl a “doom and gloom scenario,” Economic and Planning Systems official Jim Mushback said such goals would be tough to achieve under current market conditions.

There is tough competition in nearby Dana Point and Laguna Beach, and “financing hotel development is extremely difficult today,” according to the report. The report also finds that San Clemente lacks the “package of commercial and recreational amenities sought by leisure and business visitors.”

“Given current conditions, the market is not likely to support a new hotel in San Clemente for several years,” the report said.

While the city could allow hotel development in the Pier Bowl, the report urges the city to be cautious before accepting financial risks to support such development.

“It can happen, but maybe the timing isn’t right now,” Mushback said.

The report also urged caution in pursuing any plans for a specialty retail district in the Pier Bowl. Limited parking and poor access make it difficult to create such development there, the report said.

But the same limitations on potential retail and hotel development might actually work as benefits for time-share vacation units--rental units that are owned by more than one investor, Mushback told city officials.

Time-share buyers would probably be attracted to the “serene” setting of San Clemente and the Pier Bowl, according to the report. Demand for coastal time-share units appears to be good, and time-shares can generate “significant” public revenues, the report continued.

Council members and commissioners offered little reaction to the plan during the workshop, but had plenty of questions about time-shares.

Architect Bruce Jordan, who has helped draft a plan for a luxury hotel at the Beachcomber, reaffirmed his belief that the proposal is viable.